This Is the Best Place to Shop in Havana Today

With few options to choose from for shopping in Cuba, what exists should capture your sentiments about the art and beauty of the island nation – and most importantly the creativity of the Cubans themselves.

An Alma employee shares her knowledge of Cuban-made products. Image by Cuba Journal

Alma – a quaint shop tucked into the residential Havana neighborhood of Miramar – is the place to find a piece of Cuba to take home. Alexandra Oppmann, the shop’s proprietor, got her inspiration by living in Cuba and discovering the island first hand, absorbing the Cubans’ own gifts for doing things by hand (a lo Cubano).

Image by Cuba Journal

But don’t let sentimentality alone send you off shopping in Miramar. The things you can find in her shop are artisanal not as a marketing slogan but because they are actually made without machines and are expressions of how Cubans see the world.

Image by Cuba Journal

The Miramar section of Havana is minutes from Old Havana and is a nice place to walk. Many of Havana’s embassies are located in this upscale Havana suburb. Nearby hotels include the Sheraton and the Meliá Habana. Marina Hemingway is a 20-minute taxi ride from the shop.

Alma donates a portion of the profits from sales to PAC, an organization helping Cuba’s stray animal population. To learn more and see how you can help visit: PAC’s Facebook page.